Child&#39;s garment



. INVENTOR. GLADYJ Wm'rcoms GE/JJHA/YN BY CW A ATTORNEYJ.

G. W. GEISSMANN CHILD'S GARMENT v Filed Feb. 26, 1949 g KO ll I Oct. 6, 19 53 Patented Oct. 6, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OHILDS GARMENT Gladys Whitcomb Geissmann, New York, N. Y.

Application February 26, 1949, SerialNo. 78,516 2 Claims. (Cl. 2-80) This invention relates to improvements in childrens garments, and it relates particularly to improvements in overalls, play suits, trousers and the like for young children, especially those from one to six years old.

The rapid growth of children, particularly boys, has always resulted in ill-fitting clothes. Usually when a properly fitted pair of overalls or a. pair of trousers having a bib portion is purchased for the younger child, only a few months elapse until the garment gives the appearance of having shrunk. The legs of the garment appear to be, and are too short, the bib is below the chest of the child and the waistband is nearer the hips than the waist. Unless the garment is purposely too large when originally purchased, about the only thing that can be done at this stage, which usually arrives when the garment is still in good condition, is to discard it or save it for a younger child, and replace it with a new garment. This sometimes entails several complete replacements of clothing a year, if the clothing is to fit reasonably well when it is new. Needless to say, if the garment is originally too large, it never presents a good appearance for when it attains the proper fit it is in a condition fit only to be discarded.

The clothing problem and its solution, as outlined above, has always left something to be desired, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a. simpler and less expensive solution and substantial additional advantages.

The principal object of the invention is to provide trousers, overalls and the like which may be adjusted easily to compensate for the growth of the child, Without loss of the proper fit as the child grows and without being too large when originally purchased, as is usually the case when an attempt is made to anticipate the'normal growth of the child.

Another object of the invention is to provide childrens garments, particularly children's overalls, trousers, play suits and the like which may be washed readily and which may be ironed with a minimum of difficulty either with a hand iron or an ironing machine.

In accordance with the present invention, I have provided garments, for example, overalls, trousers and the like which are made up principally of two pieces of fabric, these pieces being substantially mirror images and being joined along portions of their edges and secured by fasteners along other edges so that the garments may be opened up and laid out flat with the two pieces superimposed. When so opened up, the garment can be pressed in a flatcondition by means of a hand iron, a flat plate or a roll type ironer.

More particularly, in accordance with this invention, the chest and waist covering portions of the garments are modified substantially from conventional designs. In the new overalls, for example, the bib or front portion is made considerably longer or higher than is customary in conventional overalls so that the bib and the sides of the garment are close to the collar and the armpits of the wearer when the garments are new. To compensate for the higher rise and to provide a neat fit around the waist and chest .of the wearer, short waistband straps or resilient panels may be provided to take up excess fullness in these portions of the overalls. Inasmuch as the torso length and the girth of the younger child tends to increase more rapidly than the length of his legs, compensation for growth can be had by merely letting out the shoulder straps and the waist straps so that when the child, at last, has worn the garment out, the bib and the waist portions are in about the same relation to the childs torso as the bib and waist portions of a conventional similar garment when new. ,Thus, over a greatly prolonged period, usually two to three times as long as with the usual similar garment, my new garments have the appearance of being, and actually are, properly fitted.

I have found, also, by providing the shoulder straps with a suitable curvature and by locating the ends of the straps properly at the back of the garment, that their tendency to slip off the childs shoulders is substantially reduced.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of a typical garment embodying the present invention.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a typical pair of overalls embodying the present invention with the wearers neck and shoulders shown in dotted lines therein;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the overalls shown in Fi 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the overalls with the legs and crotch thereof open and with the overalls shown in dotted lines thereon when the leg portions are fastened together;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the overalls, illustrating the adjusting straps; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view of the garments showing an elastic or resilient insert in the place of the waistband straps.

The form of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration consists of a child's overalls. It will be understood, however, from the following description, that certain features of the invention are equally applicable to play suits, trousers and other garments for children.

Referrmgwmwtm-Figs. 1 mama-typical pair of overalse'mbddyingme present. invention includes a torso-covering portion and a bib l adapted to be disposed adjacent the chest of the wearer, a waist portion II, the usual front l2 and seat portions I 3 and the legs l4 and Hathieh extend downwardly from a-crotch .por tion i6 therebetween. In this form of overalls, instead of sewing the legs 14 and IEMd the GrotOhWS along the inseam, a suitable fastening device such as a slide fastener 11 is-provided. The fastener extends from the lower end of the leg l up along "the inseamfcross the crotch and "down th'einseam of the leg l4 and is of a type in which the twocdoperating elements'can be separated completeiy. Whileaslide fastener H is preferred, it will be'understoo'd that other types of fastening "means, such as"'snaps,"buttons and the'like,-ma'y 'be substitutedfontheslidefastener. When the "slidefastener His c'iosd,"the two legs 'I and-l5 are formed. When theslide fastener is un'fastened, them'pp'nsite edges ofeach leg and the "crotch therebetweenare disconnected so that the "legs' Hand-i 5'and the' crotch' can be opened up completely with one "element I l la of the slide fastener on the=adjacentedges of the legs 14 'and 1 f5 and --the-'otherelement l 'Ib'--on theother edge of the adjacentleg-portions M and i5.

The principal advantage of theabovedes'cribed -censtruction is that the'entire garment can -be spread out, as shown 'mi ig.-3, in=a 'flat condition, so that it can beeasily irone'ci bymeans ofahand iron'or an ironin'g machine. In'order to-produce "such a fiat construction, substantial changes must' be m'aizle i in the "construction of 5 the piece maliing up the *o'veralls. Thus, referring to Fig. 3, overalls embodying Q the: present invention are inade upessent'rally of two fiatpieces ei-material "which are substantially mirror images. In the :ovemlr construction disclosed; each "piece is pro vided with 'one 'half f the bib portion HIa'nd one half of the waist covering portiQn IL -these 50 pieces being ammed at thlr" lateral'dges with -'outwardl diverging'and" curved edge portions l8 and 9 "which terminate in outwardly -direoted points 20 and 1l-en"oppos-ite-eligesofthe-piece. ihese 'points 'ifl and i l are pulled inwardly when the edge df -the' leg portions are' connected by'-the fasteners to' formthe-crotch-and seat portion [6 of the overalls. 'l'he l'eg-portion' fl, for example, i is formed by the manner-below the points, "and -in order provide the proper shape, the edges 22 and 23 are tapered downwardly to the -bottom edge 24 whichiforms-ithe cuif -orrlower e'dgeof-lthe leg of the-garment. By making the :two pieces :in the manner-described abovepadequatefullness is provided for the seat and front of the garment so thatbinding and diseomfort are avoided. --Inasmuch as the two pieces making up theright andlcft-hand-sides of'the garment are substantially identicalan'd are cutfrom-flatmalterial without errort'bemgmade to shape thegarment by means'of' seamsftucks, pleats or the'like,.the garment lies flat, asshow'n'inFig."3 and therby makes it easy to iron.

It will be understood,of course,"that the blb 5 a slide fastener 25 or its equivalent may be provided at the back, as shown in Fig. 2.

The garment has other features which are most important from the standpoint of attractive fit mnd long useful-life. Thuaone of-the-important featur'es 6nmy new garments is thatthebib portion I0 is out much higher than with ordinary qveralls so that it comes up close to the collar when the garment is first fitted to the child. -MsoWhe edge 26 of the waist portion is much -l5,-higher than with-the ordinary overalls and ex- 't'en'ds 'sverallnh'es above the waist of the child, I mam eeumd, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, by the waistband straps 21 and 28 which are province in order to draw the sides of the garment snugly around the waist of the child. The

Wdit l'iifrtsliie'fiierlirilf the garment is 'pu'ip'os'ely ina de several -inches longer than isusual in the *same age size-"of the conventional overalls. The "waistband straps 21 and are-adjusted to take up this extra length or fullness to fitthe garment =neatly tothe child's waist. The extra fullness in fthe-Waistlsoprovides" extra F cloth in the seat of the garmentsotha't the 'flt in' the seat of the gar- {inent 'ea'n -be controlled my adjusting the straps: 3 21 and-'28.

'As' the child gfows, the waistband straps '21 and- 2 8' may beloosenedfor, if desired,completely removedso that i thegarme'nt settles down fartherto compensate' for T the 'growth 'of the child.

cutthe shoumer stra s io and al which are fouror five inchesionger thaninormal. The relation 0f th'e'se several elements-therefore, is such that 'tlie gainirita pears Well "and flts W11 until' the 4Q *garment hasactuailybeen-"outgrownby the child,

that is, until the Waistband l length-has become small. At thls stage theupper edge'of the waist and the up'p'er edg'e oi the bib-are in about the position of -the borrespon'ding portions of ordinaryoverails when they are new an'd -properly fitted. ln this wayjoveralls embodying the pres- -6nt iiivntion an be worn-two 0r three times as 'iong by a "chlld havin'g' normalgrowthjas the usualoveralis -Without atanytime-giving the impresslon -that they are too la'rge or too-small for the child.

:stuuanother mamre of the invention is the "provision off-a Y novel type of shoulder i strap construction which bver'comesto a large'extent any hll'ds shoulder. sho'wn in Fig. 2, the shoulder str apsm anew I are=securedabout one inch apart at the 'baok of the wai'st portion'of the garment and are adapted to "be-crossed-passed yover the shoulders-6f the chlld and buttoned i"'thlfwlse s'ediired"to the= bib of-the garment. I' have-'found =that 'by providing the waistband strapmu and I l -\ivith-'portions -32 and' 33 curved ln the iii'rctiono'f crossing and in the direction of the shoulder oppositeto -the point of confound qii1te-unexpeotedlythat the curved straps tendency to slip off than the usual f straighifstrapswhicheitherare set on at an angle "to' the ,wais'tbandor are set-on'perpendicular "to portion can be omitted ifshort or long trousers "thewais'tband.

It will be understood that the garments are susceptible to considerable modification. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, the waistband straps may be replaced by elastic panels or inserts 34 and that side vents 35, closed. by buttons 36 may be used instead of the rear vent shown in Fig. 2.

From the preceding description, it will be apparent that I have provided garments for children which are designed to compensate for and to conform to the growth of the child, thereby prolonging the useful life of the garment. These garments are much more easily ironed than prior garments of the same general type without sacrifice of appearance and fit. It will be understood that these garments may be made of many different types of materials such as wool, cotton and synthetic fiber fabrics in many different patterns thereby making them highly attractive for dress up occasions as well as for play clothes. Changes may be in the. shape of the parts depending upon the age of the child and his stature and weight and that various types of ornamentation may be applied thereto, all without departing from the invention. Therefore, the form of the invention disclosed herein should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Childrens overalls comprising two substantially identical fiat pieces of material, one having portions adapted to cover the right side of the lower torso and the right leg of the wearer and the other having portions adapted to cover the left side of the lower torso and the left leg of the wearer, said lower torso covering portions being connected together by front and rear seams at the front and rear of the overalls, respectively, each of said pieces adjacent to said front seam being formed with a bib extension, said extensions being joined by said front seam to form a bib adapted to extend up to the neck of the wearer, the pieces having substantially straight upper edges on each side of the bib forming an upper back edge on the overalls adapted to extend in substantially a straight line around the sides and back of the wearer, said upper back edge being located above the waistline of the overalls and adapted to cover portions of thetorso of the wearer above the waistline thereof, adjustable tabs on each side of the overalls at its waistline and spaced below the upper back edge of said overalls, adjustable shoulder straps extending from adjacent the middle of said upper back edge to the upper end of said bib, the leg covering portions of said pieces having free side edges and lower ends, said free side edges of each piece being connected together along a line extending from said lower end of said piece up to the upper ends of said side edges to form the legs of the overalls and a crotch therebetween, and said line of connection incorporating a slide fastener extending from the lower end of one leg up to the crotch and down the other leg to its lower end.

2. Childrens overalls comprising two substantially identical flat pieces of material, one having portions adapted to cover the right side of the lower torso and the right leg of the wearer and the other having portions adapted to cover the left side of the lower torso and the left leg of the wearer, said lower torso covering portions being connected together by front and rear seams at the front and rear of the overalls, respectively, each of said pieces adjacent to said front seam being formed with a bib extension, said extensions being joined by said front seam to form a bib adapted to extend up to the neck of the wearer, the pieces having substantially straight upper edges on each side of the bib forming an upper back edge on the overalls adapted to extend in substantially a straight line around the sides and back of the wearer, said upper back edge being located above the waistline of the overalls and adapted to cover portions of the torso of the wearer above the waistline thereof, adjustable tabs on each side of the overalls at its waistline and spaced below the upper back edge of said overalls, adjustable shoulder straps extending from adjacent the middle of said upper back edge to the upper end of said bib, the leg covering portions of said pieces having free side edges and lower ends, and said free side edges of each piece being connected together along a line extending from said lower end of said piece up to the upper ends of said side edges to form the legs of the overalls and a crotch therebetween.

GLADYS WHITCOMB GEISSMANN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 897,445 Bartrum Sept. 1, 1908 965,596 Pell July 26, 1910 1,410,541 Allen Mar. 28, 1922 1,535,666 Hodgkins Apr. 28, 1925 1,561,545 Johannesen Nov. 17, 1925 1,634,829 Halperin July 5, 1927 1,726,951 Evanove Sept. 3, 1929 1,744,695 Fishback et a1 Jan. 21, 1930 2,257,426 Neiman Sept. 30, 1941 2,418,050 Shank Mar. 25, 1947 2,566,416 Hollar Sept. 4, 1951 

